Bishop Kevin Farrell

The Chief Shepherd of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas

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Martyrs: the greatest witnesses

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I wonder why it is so difficult for us here in the United States to connect with our Christian brothers and sisters in other parts of the world who are suffering persecution and even martyrdom?

Recently a bishop in Kenya asked why that there was so little international response to the fact that 147 students were singled out to be murdered in a terrorist raid on a university because they were Christians. He compared it to the Charlie Hebdo terrorist killing in France that generated so much international outrage, and wondered why the Hebdo incident had generated such international outrage in Europe and North America while there was so little over the slaying of the Kenyan Christian students.

In fact here in our country we are more concerned with internecine squabbles than the fact that worldwide Christians, Catholics and Protestants, are dying for their faith in greater numbers than ever before.

Pope Francis has stated that “there are more persecuted Christians in the world today than there were in the first centuries of Christianity.” The term martyr is derived from the Greek word for witness. Referring to the persecution Christians are suffering in many areas of the Middle East, Africa and India, the Holy Father continued “when historical situations require a strong witness, there are martyrs, the greatest witnesses. And the Church grows thanks to the blood of the martyrs.”

Certainly the Pope’s words reflect what is happening in Africa. Think of the 21 Coptic Christian men beheaded this year in Libya or the 147 Christian students singled out at Garissa University in Kenya and murdered. There are many other instances, the Christian girls taken from their school in Nigeria and still held hostage or the 12 African refugees thrown into the Mediterranean to drown when it was discovered they were Christian.

All are modern-day martyrs, and all are from Africa where USA Today recently reported, “The [Christian] faith has grown exponentially in sub-Saharan Africa, from just 9% of the population in 1910 to 63% today.

Perhaps the answer to the Kenyan bishop’s question is that in our complacent comfort it is easy to turn our attention away from what others are enduring for their Christian discipleship. Or maybe, we are afraid to ask ourselves if our faith is as strong as those who are accepting martyrdom rather than denying being disciples of Jesus.

Let us continue to pray for all Christians around the world who are persecuted and murdered because of their faith.

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Image credit: People attend a memorial vigil in Nairobi, Kenya, April 7, for the 147 people killed in an attack on Garissa University College. Kenyan bishops are urging the government to step up security and for citizens to remain united after al-Shabab militants attacked the college campus April 2. (CNS photo/Goran Tomasevic, Reuters)

ISIS through different eyes

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ISIS through different eyes

Atrocities committed by ISIS against Christians and other minority religions have received extensive coverage in the media as the fundamentalist Islamic movement spreads to new areas and seems to be attracting recruits from many western countries as well as other Muslim nations.

We are stunned by the cruelty and brutality of ISIS soldiers who seem to be attempting to turn the clock of history back to the middle ages. I have mentioned before that Christianity in the Middle East, in Iraq, Syria, Jordan and Iran dates to the very early days of the Church.

Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako, Chaldean Metropolitan Patriarch of Bagdad, whose metropolitan archeparchy embraces Iraq, Syria, and Egypt, in a recent interview, expressed a different and more intimate perspective on ISIS. He has served in the area which ISIS operates all his priestly life. Prior to his appointment as Metropolitan in 2013, he served as Archeparch of Kirkuk and previous to that as a priest of the Archeparchy of Mosul.

Concerning the escalating persecution of Middle Eastern Christians, the Patriarch observed, “There is meaning — the priority of faith. These people sacrifice themselves for love of what lives. This blood has a very great and profound meaning. As Jesus said: “Greater love has no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Jesus is the model for them. The blood of the martyrs is a great strength and a source of hope for us. As Tertullian, early Church Father and apologist, said: “The blood of martyrs is the seed of new Christians.” So we can say that it’s death, but it’s also life. As the Lord also said: “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul” (Matthew 10:28). In my opinion, the West must see in the model of these martyrs a call, an appeal to conversion, to religiosity and to faith. If there are problems here today it’s because there is a void. Western society is losing its religious values; there is a culture of individualism, of pleasure, of money that does not satisfy man who has a tendency to the absolute.

On the reason so many from the West are joining ISIS, Patriarch Sako said, “I understand why these Western jihadists go to engage in a holy war, because they seek an ideal. ISIS shows force on the communicative plane but also on the religious. They have the ideal of creating a religious State. There is a sense of martyrdom. For them it is about a holy war… They have an ideal of Paradise that stems from a literal interpretation of the Koran… They don’t understand pluralism, and they think that the others have falsified religion. The movement of Islamization corresponds to a mission that they believe they have had. Otherwise, they think they will go to hell.”

His advice is “For a better world there must be: a reform of religions, in the sense that they are called to re-propose, to “update,” to re-evangelize and hence to render their message accessible. Secondly, it is necessary to give meaning and new hope to human life. A more just and open international policy that respects everyone’s human rights is needed. Every man is made in the image and likeness of God. Finally, there is an urgent need for economic reform. There must be more justice between the rich and the poor.”

Patriarch Sako will be one of the Fathers on the forthcoming Synod in October. To read his entire interview, please visit this link:

Patriarch Sako: ‘Italy Must Not Fall Into the Trap of ISIS Threats’ (Zenit.com)

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Image Credit: Chaldean Patriarch Louis Sako of Baghdad speaks during a July 22 news conference in Irbil, Iraq. He said the future of Christians in Iraq was uncertain because of the recent violence. (CNS photo/Reuters) (July 23, 2014) 

The blood is the same: It is the blood which confesses Christ

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Blood is the same

Atrocities carried out by the Islamic state terrorists reached a new level of barbarity with the beheading of 21 Coptic Christians in Libya last week in retaliation for the killing of Osama bin Laden. The victims had been singled out as Christians last December and held captive until the seaside executions.

“They were murdered just for the fact they were Christians,” Pope Francis said. Adding, “The blood of our Christian brothers is a witness that cries out ….If they are Catholic, Orthodox, Copts, Lutherans, it is not important: They are Christians. The blood is the same: It is the blood which confesses Christ.”

It is ironic that the perpetrators of the massacre referred to the Coptic Christians as crusaders. Coptic Christians are among the earliest Christian communities and have always been centered in Egypt and were in no sense part of the crusades from Europe.

Copts, along with many other Catholic, Orthodox and Oriental Christians whose roots date to Apostolic times have been suffering persecution, oppression and martyrdom throughout the Middle East and Asia and have been driven out of cities, like Mosul, that had been centers of Christian culture for nearly two thousand years.

Speaking to a group from the Church of Scotland, Pope Francis said that in remembering “these brothers who have been killed simply for confessing Christ,” Christians should encourage one another in the ecumenical goal, noting the “ecumenism of blood” in recalling that “The martyrs are from all the Christians.”

This is not a time for vengeance or retaliation that is contrary to the teaching of Jesus, and only escalates violence. Rather, it is a time for prayerful reflection on the sacrifice of these Coptic brothers who, as the Holy Father noted, only said “Jesus help me.”

An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth?

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Eye for an eye

“An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.”

In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus had something to say about that maxim, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on [your] right cheek, turn the other one to him as well. If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles.” (Matt 5:38-42)

You might well say — if that is the Gospel, we are not Christian, or in the words of G. K. Chesterton, “the Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried.”

Many of us, bishops, priests and laity have been guilty of preaching, teaching and reading the Gospel selectively…sometimes glossing over the uncomfortable portions like the quoted passage from Matthew in which Jesus clearly calls his disciples to go beyond the Law of Reciprocity, treat others well so they will treat you well, and beyond the Talion Law of tit-for-tat.

Are we then to stand aside and let evil run rampant? Of course not. But, our response must be measured, just and tempered with mercy, not instantaneous, massive retaliation intended to destroy.

A measured response may include the limited use of force but always in conjunction with diplomacy and other efforts. With regard to the use of force against ISIS in Iraq, Pope Francis cautioned, “In reaffirming that it is licit, while always respecting international law, to stop an unjust aggressor, I wish to reiterate that the problem cannot be resolved solely through a military response.”

Let us pray for people around the world — including our enemies and especially for our leaders– that God our Heavenly Father will touch our hearts and minds so that someday we can know peace in the world.

Image credit: “Pantokrator” by Nick Thompson on Flickr

Keeping Charlie Hebdo in perspective

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Journalists and cartoonists that were gunned down in Paris were victims of barbarous and brutal violence, but they are not heroes. Our Holy Father Pope Francis in an interview en route to the Philippines renewed his condemnation the terrorist attacks in Paris, and of all violence, but added that there are there are limits to freedom of expression, especially when it insults or ridicules someone’s faith.

Acknowledging that both freedom of expression and freedom of speech are fundamental freedoms, Pope Francis said neither is absolute. As Pope Francis said, killing in the name of God “is an aberration,” and “You cannot provoke. You cannot insult the faith of others. You cannot make fun of the faith of others.”

Society as a whole and nations struggle to balance freedoms. In our own country, freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights, which is the constitutional basis for both freedom of religion and freedom of speech, have been limited for the common good by decisions of the Supreme Court, which continues to be called upon to rule on issues of freedom of speech and religion.

The satirical journalism of Charlie Hebdo in no way justified the vicious and deadly attack, but satire is not humor.It may seem humorous to some, but not to those that are its target. Satire is inherently cruel and those who practice it have placed themselves outside of the mainstream of civility and society. They also set themselves up for retaliation. As the Pope said, if you insult somebody’s mother, you can expect a punch in the nose, “it’s normal.”

Jesus put it this way: “Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets’ (Matthew 7:12)

Image Credit: CNS photo/Carlo Allegri, Reuters

Where there is hatred, let me sow love

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Where there is hatred, let me sow love

Where there is hatred, let me sow love…
–Prayer of St. Francis

Hatred is an insidious thing. It blinds us to truth; it blinds us to love; and it blinds us to God. Hatred springs from fear, from self-righteousness and from ignorance. It strips us of our reason, clouds our intellect, warps our mind to perceive that which is evil as good and demonizes the object of its wrath to justify itself. Hatred is particularly pernicious when it is justified in God’s name.

God is love (1 John 4:8) and love is antithetical to hatred. The opposite of hatred is not only love, but also forgiveness. Anger is a feeling — we all feel anger. Hatred and forgiveness are decisions we make as the result of feeling anger. As followers of Jesus, we have only one possible response to anger … love and forgiveness. “Whoever hates his brother is in darkness; he walks in darkness and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes” (1 John 2:11).

Those blinded by hatred are blind to truth; they are like those described by the Prophet Jeremiah as “foolish and senseless people, who have eyes and do not see, who have ears and do not hear”(Jer: 5:21). The popular saying “don’t get mad, get even” is totally contrary to the teachings of Jesus, who taught in the Sermon on the Mount: “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on (your) right cheek, turn the other one to him as well” (Matt. 5:38,39).

Forgiveness and love are of God. Jesus, the Great Reconciler, as he hung on the cross, uttered among his last words, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do”(Luke 23:34), and in imitation of Jesus, Stephen cried out as he was being stoned to death, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them”(Acts 7:60).

As disciples of Jesus, can we do less?

Our hearts cry out to heaven, not for vengeance but for healing

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Taliban Massecre in Pakistan

It is difficult for the mind to grasp the vicious brutality behind the Taliban’s massacre of 132 innocent school children and 13 adults at a school in Pakistan on Tuesday, December 16th. It is equally difficult to imagine the depth of suffering of parents and loved ones of the murdered. Such inhuman cruelty numbs the mind. Retaliation, as this appears to be, is never a solution; it only escalates the cycle of violence.

Our hearts cry out to heaven, not for vengeance but for healing — healing for the families, healing for the survivors, and healing for the hatred capable of begetting such horror. In the words of Pope Francis, “I invite everyone to look to the Crucified Jesus to understand that hatred and evil must be met with forgiveness and goodness, to understand that the solution of war leads only to more evil and death!”

We cannot surrender to a culture that accepts evil as a norm and that generates hatred in God’s name. We are disciples of the one who offers forgiveness, hope and unconditional love.

 Image Credit: CNS photo/Khuram Parvez, Reuters

What Everybody Should Know About Christians in Iraq

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What Everybody Should Know About Christians in Iraq

For some, the presence of Christians in Iraq is a surprise. Our image of Iraq is that it is an Arab nation and Arab equals Muslim. Of course, that is not the case. All Arabs are not Muslims and, conversely, all Muslims are not Arabs. Indonesia, with the world’s largest Muslim population, is not an Arab nation.

Christianity was born in the Middle East. Iraq, together with Iran, are part of Mesopotamia, and Christians have been present in the area since the mid-second century. Paulist Father Ronald. Roberson in his book, The Eastern Christian Churches, notes that in the third century the area was conquered by a Persian dynasty that perdured until the seventh century and was known as the Sassanid Empire. The Christianity that developed there became known simply as “the Church of the East.”

In the fifth century the Church of the East gravitated toward the Christology of Nestorius that was condemned at the Council of Ephesus. Nestorians were declared heretics and banned from the Roman Empire and many fled east to the safety of the Sassanians. The Church of the East, which became known as the Assyrian Church of the East, increasingly separated itself from the orthodox churches. Other Christian groups deemed heretical also sought refuge among the Persians.

While they remained a minority among the principally Zoroastrian Persians, the eastern churches flourished and cities such as Mosul, Basra, Kirkuk and Tikrit became thriving Christian centers. All of that changed with the coming of Islam. The eastern churches, while tolerated, were hobbled by Islam and became but remnants. Nonetheless, they continued to exist throughout the area until the present time alongside Eastern Catholic (Uniate) churches and their Muslim neighbors.

Radicalization of some Muslim groups in Iraq, Syria and Egypt has resulted in the harassment and persecution of eastern Christians culminating with the forceful removal of all Christians (and others) from Mosul and other ancient Christian areas by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

We must indeed pray for our suffering brothers and sisters in the Middle East, Christians and others, and pray for the strength to endure the tribulations that have come upon them. You may provide aid to them through Catholic Relief Services at http://emergencies.crs.org/iraq-crs-response-strategy-during-displacement-crisis/

Image Credit: CNS photo/Rodi Said, Reuters